


only know you love her when you let her go (and you let her go)

by phoenix_inthe_fire



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 18:31:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18145865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenix_inthe_fire/pseuds/phoenix_inthe_fire
Summary: 'Cause you only need the light when it's burning lowOnly miss the sun when it starts to snowOnly know you love her when you let her goor, how the pack got together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a disclaimer this is the next installment in mine and comebackbehere's posie au. This one is Cameron/Reyna centered but will feature Posie and Penelope and all the others.
> 
> TW: for implied and brief mentions of domestic/emotional abuse

  
Cameron sometimes think she’s dreaming.

She’d been so used to seeing bits and flashes of Reyna in her dreams, hadn’t even had a name to call her then, that seeing her in the flesh was still so jarring. She was partly convinced that she’d finally gone insane and was now creating an image of what her mate was supposed to be but then she’d remember that she was in fact awake and Reyna was in fact real.

“Oh fuck off!” Reyna guffaws around a laugh, “There’s no way this is what passes as good music.”

Josie looks so deeply offended as she snatches her phone away from Reyna. “I love this song! It’s a top 40’s hit!”

“It’s garbage.” Reyna tells her bluntly but there’s a distinct twinkle in her eyes.

Josie’s cheeks go pink, her nostrils flaring like she was gearing up for a fight. Thankfully Penelope chooses then to wander over to their table and Josie’s attention snaps to her instead. “Penelope!” She practically barks, Penelope’s eyes going wide, “Tell Reyna, that this song is amazing.” She grinds out between clenched teeth.

Reyna looks pleased at having elicited such a response and it sparks a fondness so deep in Cameron’s chest. “Tell her it’s garbage.” She counters easily.

Penelope purposely sits next to Cameron after depositing a quick kiss to Josie’s flushed cheek. “Leave me out of it.”

Josie looks incensed, “Penelope!”

“Babe,” Penelope honestly groans, “I love you but you’re music taste is- meh.”

“Wow,” Josie says snippily, getting up from the table with jerky movements, “I can’t believe I ever let you see me naked, clearly you can’t appreciate great things.” She storms away quite spectacularly after that, Reyna letting out a raucous laugh behind her.

“Josie! Don’t be like that!” Penelope calls after her. She watches Josie get further away before heaving herself back off the bench with an annoyed groan. “I was just kidding babe!”

Cameron nudges Reyna’s shoulder as Penelope disappears from their sight, “You’re a shit.” She informs her matter of factly.

Reyna grins, “But you think I’m funny.”

“I said nothing of the sort.”

“You didn’t have to.” Reyna says smugly, “You laugh at every other word out of my mouth.”

Cameron feels a flush creep up her cheeks. “Because you’re an idiot.”

Reyna’s grin doesn’t falter. “Yeah, sure.”

They fall into a comfortable silence, something that Cameron had been pleased to find came natural to the two of them, even with the short amount of time they’d spent together. It’s like each moment brought them closer and strengthened their bond.

“Here,” Cameron says as she hands Reyna one of her earbuds, “Maybe you’ll like this music instead.”

Reyna does in fact like Cameron’s kind of music and they spend the whole day talking about it and exploring new songs.

-

“You’re like wicked smart.” Reyna observes, her eyes a little wide.

Cameron looks up from her math homework, her glasses sliding down her nose, “Huh?”

“You’re smart.” Reyna says again, pointing at Cameron’s notebook, “You’re doing it so fast.”

Cameron looks back down again and realizes that she was in fact more than halfway through her assignment. “Math is easy to me.” She says with a shy shrug.

Reyna huffs a little laugh, “Must be nice. I’m struggling to keep up. There’s just so much shit.” She says, gesturing at the mess of books she had strewn out in front of her.

Cameron smiles fondly. “Well it might be a little easier if you picked one subject to focus on instead of trying to do three at once.”

Reyna blinks like the thought hadn’t occurred to her. “I guess that makes sense.” She looks down at her books again, still looking rapidly out of her depth and Cameron is reminded that up until a few weeks ago she’d been living out on her own with Sofiá in the forest with no kind of stable meal selection let alone an education.

“How about I finish this real quick and then I’ll help you sort through it?” Cameron offers with an easy smile.

Reyna looks relieved and the smile she offers Cameron in return is certainly worth being late to football practice later that day.

-

Cameron tries to be patient about the whole mate bond thing. Reyna was still adjusting and Sofiá was practically a basket case when she’d found out that Isabella had bonded with her so needless to say she had her hands full. So Cameron shoves it aside in favor of being the best friend she could be for Reyna but she certainly doesn’t forget about it. Especially not with how it seems to grow.

“So you just add them to both sides. Think of it like a balance scale, what you add to one side you add to the other to keep them even.” Cameron explains, geturing vaguely with her pencil to what she was talking about.

Reyna’s brow is furrowed tight in concentration and Cameron smiles at the cuteness of it. Especially when Reyna finally figures it out and her face lights up. “Oh! Okay, I get it now!” She practically snatches the pencil from Cameron’s hand and tries it for herself. She does in fact get it right and Cameron tells her such. “See, I wish my teachers explained it like you.” She says around a sigh. “Maybe I wouldn’t be so behind.”

Cameron pats her shoulder comfortingly. While Reyna had made tremendous progress in trying to catch up in school work, she was still a year behind what she should be for her age. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Rey. You’ve technically skipped like four grades in like two months. That makes you a genius.” She tells her with a loud whisper, like she was telling a secret.

Reyna blushes and smiles shyly, knocking her shoulder into Cameron’s. “Oh shut up, you’re the genius here.”

Cameron shakes her head. “Nope, that’s all you.”

“You’re a really good teacher though.” Reyna tells her honestly, “It’s like you’re in my head explaining all my questions before I even ask them.” She looks so openly awed, so appreciative that Cameron feels her face heat up.

“I’m just explaining it in a new way.” Cameron waves off, “You’re the one doing the actual work.”

Reyna rolls her eyes and jabs Cameron in the side. “Take the compliment, jockstrap, I’m not handing them out for free.”

Cameron laughs and grabs the offending finger, giving it a little twist that has Reyna recoiling. “Thank you, Reyna, for complimenting me, I’ll make sure to remember it for the days you’re being a giant asshole.” She tells her matter factly, smiling cheekily.

Reyna’s mouth drops open in offense. “How dare you! I’m a sweetheart!” She says while wacking Cameron repeatedly.

Cameron grabs her wrist with relative ease, “Oh yes, such a sweetheart.” She says sarcastically.

Reyna grins sheepishly and pulls her wrist away after a beat, “Yeah well whatever.” She grumbles good naturedly. “You know what I mean.”

Cameron grins, soft and with more feeling than she intends. “Yeah, I do, actually.”

The meaning is not lost on Reyna because she offers her own smile back, a little shaky but no less genuine, and goes right back to her homework. Neither of them mention the double meaning behind it or the growing _something_ between them.

-

“Hello I demand attention.” Penelope announces as she enters Cameron’s dorm room. It’s empty save for Cameron, who’s sitting at her laptop in short shorts and a sports bra, because Josie had disappeared for some kind of errand before Cameron had even woken up and she had taken advantage of the alone time to the fullest.

“Hello to you too, Penelope.” Cameron says with a wry grin.

“You’ve been ignoring me,” Penelope sing songs as she flops onto Cameron’s mess of a bed. It’s more a nest than anything. “For your shiny new toy.”

Cameron glares at her flatly, “She’s my mate, hardly a new toy.”

“Semantics,” Penelope sighs, “Besides she thinks you’re just friends.” She says with a slight smirk.

“It’s not funny,” Cameron whines, “She’s so pretty it makes me feel stupid sometimes.”

Penelope makes an awe face and tucks her hands under her chin. “Tell me more.”

“She’s just so smart, like I know she hasn’t done school much but she’s taken it to like a fish does water. You know sometimes she texts me random little things she’s learned? It’s always the most mundane things too, like the moon landing or the fact that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. I can’t _wait_ to introduce her to conspiracy theories.”

Penelope softens. “Oh honey.”

“I think I’m falling in love with her.” Cameron confesses, “Is that crazy? It hasn’t been that long.”

“You’re mates.” Penelope shrugs, “You could have a baby tomorrow and that wouldn’t be weird.”

“Then why doesn’t she feel the same?” Cameron asks almost desperately.

“I think she does,” Penelope assures her, “She just doesn’t know it yet.”

Cameron sighs, “I guess it’s the waiting game then.”

Penelope laughs, “Oh how the turn tables!”

Cameron lets a deep belly laugh, her grin nearly splitting her face and all feelings about unrequited love falling away for the time being. “I knew you liked the Office!”

“I’ll admit nothing.”

“Look I know it’s going to suck,” Penelope says after a beat, her face serious now, “You know how bad it was for me without Josie, but it was all worth it in the end. You got to see that too.”

Cameron nods slowly, “Yeah, you’re right. I just have to be patient.”

“I’m always right.” Penelope says with a flip of her hair, “Now turn off your game and get dressed we’re going out.”

-

“Ew, I don’t like it.” Reyna says immediately.

Cameron laughs, “Rey you haven’t even tried it yet.”

“It smells weird.” Reyna says as she eyes the piece of meat on Cameron’s fork skeptically.

“Okay that’s fair.” Cameron agrees, because it did have a weird unique kind of smell. “But it’s good, I promise.”

“You’ll eat anything though.” Reyna narrows her eyes, “I don’t know if I should trust your judgement.”

“Oh my god, can you two quit your weird flirting and just try the piece of meat?” Sofiá nearly shouts from Reyna’s side.

Reyna recoils and Cameron’s face falls at the way she seems to cave in on herself. “What the fuck, Sof, you know we’re just friends.”

It hurts a lot more than Cameron ever thought it would, like a punch straight at her chest. She suddenly doesn’t even want to finish her food.

Sofiá only rolls her eyes and goes back to her brooding, not so subtly glaring at Isabella any chance she gets.

Reyna sighs so deeply that it swishes Cameron’s napkin on the table. “We’re gunna go, you guys enjoy your food.” She says, rising to her feet and yanking Sofiá up with her.

“Wow our mates suck.” Isabella mutters once it’s just the two of them.

Cameron laughs if only to keep from crying.

-

Cameron’s dozed off outside in the sun, her back against a tree when she feels something block the sun on her face. When she cracks her eyes open it takes a minute to see past the spots in her vision.

“What are you doing?” Reyna asks with a scrunched up face.

“Sitting in the grass.” Cameron says like it’s obvious.

“Are you soaking up sun rays?” Reyna asks with a smirk, “Like how it feels on your fur?”

“Ha ha,” Cameron sneers but then her face falls into an easy smile. “Why are you blocking my sun?”

“Come get food with me.” Reyna demands, “Please.” She adds on after a beat, looking sheepish.

“Okay,” Cameron agrees easily, standing up from the grass and cracking her bones. She absolutely notices the way Reyna’s eyes focus on the strip of skin revealed when her shirt rides up. Reyna tears her eyes away immediately. “Where to?”

“Anywhere.” Reyna says, her voice a little forced. “But I want bacon.”

Cameron perks up, “Double bacon cheeseburgers and milkshakes?”

Reyna grins. “Lead the way, Camz.”

-

“I feel like I’m behind on everything,” Reyna bemoans, flinging her pencil down into the center of her history book.

“Well you’ve never been to a school so.” Cameron laughs, “It’s to be expected.”

“I’ve been to school!” Reyna glares hotly but it falls away after a moment into a sheepish sort of grin, “Only until like 8th grade though.”

Cameron feels her heart pang at the reminder that this girl that she already felt so much for had spent the majority of her formative years on the run, secluded from a normal life being a kid. Well as normal as it could get being a supernatural being anyway. “What was it like being on the run?”

Reyna’s face goes guarded, her eyes shifting from Cameron’s face and back down to her books. She shrugs with her whole body. “It’s exhausting.” She admits before picking back up her pencil. It’s certainly a dismissal if Cameron’s ever seen one.

“I used to think about running away.” Cameron offers up, half because she wants Reyna to be comfortable sharing and half because she’d wanted to have these kinds of conversations with her mate the second she’d figured out just what that bond entailed. “Especially after my foster family was killed.”

Reyna looks up at that, sympathy shining in the depths of her green eyes. “The one that took you in after-”

“My real family died? Yeah.” Cameron smiles faintly at the way Reyna’s voice gentles and her body softens, like she recognized that Cameron was showing her soft underbelly. “They weren’t the same as my real family and then just when I got to love them, they were killed too and it was just me and Quincy.”

“Death is kind to no one.” Reyna says, like she’s repeating something someone has said to her.

“No,” Cameron agrees, “It isn’t.” There’s a lull where Reyna just looks at her with soft eyes and Cameron holds her gaze. It doesn’t feel like it does when she’s sharing with Penelope, it feels like something more.

“Where would you have gone?” Reyna asks finally, voice still soft.

“The beach.” Cameron answers easily, “I packed a bag so many times when they tossed me around from foster care to foster care. I even left once, but Quincy found me and promised he’d take me in once he turned 18, I just had to hold out a little longer.”

Reyna smiles, “The beach isn’t very good for hiding. You would have been caught and sent back immediately.”

“Oh?” Cameron raises an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Reyna confirms, “Forests are great for hiding.” She says with a mischievous kind of twinkle in her eye, “It’s where all the scary things go bump in the night.”

“So it keeps the people away.” Cameron realizes with a laugh.

Reyna looks proud of herself for eliciting such a reaction before she softens into something much gentler again. “For what it’s worth I’m glad you stuck around to let Quincy keep his promise. You probably wouldn’t have ended up here had you not.”

“Yeah,” Cameron breathes, that feeling welling in her chest again, “Me too.” She couldn’t imagine another place she’d rather be.

-

Eventually Sofiá and Isabella get it together and Cameron is genuinely happy that all the tension is gone. It makes Reyna more at ease and anything that makes Reyna’s life easier was fantastic in Cameron’s books.

It makes Cameron feel hopeful for her and Reyna in return because they were already great friends so logically the transition from friends to lovers was a lot more easy than enemies to lovers.

“Mm, I don’t know,” Josie disagrees, her brow furrowed as she stares up at the ceiling. Penelope’s head is on her chest and Cameron is watching them both with a frown from the end of the bed. “I feel like enemies and lovers are both on the same side of the scale.”

“What?” Cameron asks incredulously, “No fucking way! They’re opposites.”

“They’re both extremes though.” Josie argues, “There’s still tension and it can very easily turn sexual and then boom you’re lovers.”

Penelope looks thoughtful. “That makes a lot of sense actually.”

Cameron looks betrayed.

“Sorry pup,” Penelope laughs, “My lady is right.”

Josie preens under the compliment and smiles at Cameron smugly.

Cameron sticks her the finger. “Whatever, that’s dumb, there’s no way it’s going to take that much longer for me and Reyna to get together.”

Penelope and Josie both wince.

“What?” Cameron demands.

“You just jinxed it.” They parrot together.

Cameron rolls her eyes at the pair of them. “Come on that’s not real.”

-

That night she dreams of someone else’s hands on Reyna.

She dreams herself watching Reyna fall in love with someone else and the whole time she feels like she’s got her lips stitched shut, helpless to watch the love of her life float away from her.

She wakes up with her chest heaving and her body drenched in sweat while Josie and Penelope sleep peacefully on the other side of the room.

Cameron tosses a pillow at them at full strength and pretends she’s asleep when Penelope grunts awake and jerks back and hits Josie causing her to wake up too. Cameron never falls back to sleep even long after they do.

-

“What’s the matter with you?” Reyna asks her at lunch when Cameron’s head droops for the third time.

Cameron blinks slowly, “Just tired.” She says and it’s the truth even though she leaves out the nightmare that had plagued her. There’s no other name for it other than a nightmare. She refused to believe it was an omen.

“Wanna go take a nap?” Reyna asks, taking a sip of her drink.

Cameron frowns, her sleep deprived brain working at half speed. “What? Like together?”

Reyna shrugs, “Sure why not? Me and Sofiá used to do it all the time. Now she takes all her naps with Isabella.” She says the last bit with a scowl, glaring in Sofiá’s direction. But Sofiá is talking very closely with Isabella and doesn’t even hear her.

They go back to Cameron’s dorm because Josie is out and about being student body president and the dorm hall was particularly quiet today.

Cameron fidgets once they’re both standing by the bed. Reyna’s already kicking off her shoes and tossing her phone onto one of the bed side tables as she throws herself into the middle of the mattress. It makes Cameron nervous. It’s not like it is with Penelope where she doesn’t care about where her body lands, or what part of herself touches Penelope, or even how close they'll get, but with Reyna it feels like a swarm of butterflies are about to fly out of her mouth.

“Why are you just standing there?” Reyna asks around a laugh, fluffing one of Cameron’s pillows before dropping her face onto it. “Oh wait, did you want this side?” She makes to get up again but Cameron holds out her hands.

“No, no it’s fine. I usually sleep on the other side anyway.” Cameron informs her, “I just wanted you to get comfortable first.” She comes up with the save on the spot.

Reyna looks pleased by this for some reason. She yanks up one of Cameron’s many blankets and nearly covers her whole face. “Okay I’m comfy.” She announces.

Cameron has to take a deep calming breath because she never would have thought seeing Reyna snuggled into her bed would make her heart pound so hard. She toes off her shoes slowly, tosses her phone onto the bedside table too and sits down on the bed with her back to Reyna. The entire process of laying down is stiff and when she’s finally situated she lets out a long breathe.

Reyna peeks at her curiously from the small portion of her eyes she’s left uncovered. “Why are you all the way over there?”

Cameron swallows thickly. “I don’t wanna be a bed hog.” It’s wholly untrue but it’s enough of an excuse to justify her weird behavior.

“Dude, come over here.” Reyna laughs and before Cameron can protest, Reyna is quite literally yanking her closer and hooking her arm around her so she stays put.

Cameron feels like she’s going to explode. Reyna is very warm for someone who is half dead and being this close to her means Cameron gets a heavy whiff of her intoxicating scent. It makes her relax without even realizing it.

“See,” Reyna whispers, “I’m a great cuddler.” She says, shuffling even closer until her body is covering half of Cameron’s.

“N-never doubted your skills.” Cameron tells her honestly.

“You’re softer than Sofiá.” Reyna admits, “You can be my new nap partner if you want.”

Cameron lets out a strangled sort of whimper before clearing her throat. “We haven’t even fallen asleep yet.”

Reyna lets out a yawn and yanks the blankets up higher until it’s covering her face completely. “That’s gunna change in like five seconds.”

Cameron can only smile. Reyna does in fact fall asleep rather quickly and to Cameron’s absolute torture she somehow cuddles even closer, like she was seeking out Cameron’s body heat in her sleep. Eventually though, after Reyna’s stopped shifting closer and Cameron’s bed is full of her scent, Cameron finally falls asleep herself.

Josie comes in while they’re napping and snaps a picture of them curled together to Penelope. ‘I think I just became their number one fan.’ and then she forces Penelope to never mention it again.

-

Reyna decides somewhere between her new knowledge of mate bonds and being in a population of people that Cameron is just going to be a great friend and nothing more.

“Okay. I still don’t get it. So she just says you guys are meant to be friends?” Penelope asks incredulously. Isabella is sitting next to her looking just as wide eyed.

Cameron sighs in exhaustion, “Yes. She had like this big ass ancient book and pointed to some obscure ass line in it that she like latched onto.” She’d spent the majority of the night tossing and turning. She hadn’t been expecting Reyna to jump to such a conclusion let alone inform Cameron of it so casually, like it wasn’t going to break Cameron’s heart in two.

“What did it even say?” Penelope frowns. “I knew we shouldn’t have let her loose in the library.”

Isabella lets out a small chuckle and smacks Penelope in the shoulder. Penelope does not look sorry in the least.

“Isn’t that like 1 in a billion?” Cameron asks Isabella in a whisper. She doesn’t know why Reyna is so adamant that they’ll only be friends especially when she’s already sure she’s half way in love with her but she surely wasn’t going to say anything to Reyna about it especially not after this revelation.

Isabella nods with a slight grimace. “It’s extremely uncommon, especially amongst two wolf pairings.”

“Never seen a bitch so in denial.” Penelope chirps, shaking her head in fond annoyance.

Isabella snorts a laugh and Cameron glares at Isabella in Reyna’s defense though it lacks any real heat with the sadness she feels in her heart.

“I think she’s about as bad as Sofiá.” Isabella says easily and Penelope bobs her head in agreement.

Cameron is offended on Reyna’s behalf. “Okay, no way! Sofiá was way worse!” She says in a hushed whisper. Reyna was still in front of them, a decent ways away that she couldn’t overhear them unless she was trying to listen, talking to Sofiá about something that had them both laughing. The sun was shining on her particularly brightly, or at least it looked that way to Cameron. She couldn’t tear her eyes away. The way Reyna scrunched her nose, her lips pulled back in a grin, the way her ears went slightly red as she laughed, Cameron was transfixed. How could these feelings be just friendly?

Penelope sighs sadly, “Oh honey no, this is somehow way worse.”

-

Cameron tries to be patient still. She knows that Reyna has a lot of things to work through and she has hopes that Reyna will figure it out on her own because Cameron would never pressure her. She knows that there is still so much that they don’t understand about their bond. The fact still remains that Cameron falls a little more in love with her every time they’re together. The fact still remains that Reyna refuses to accept their bond as anything other than friends.

It starts to feel like there’s a clock somewhere ticking down and Cameron isn’t sure what happens when it hits zero.

-

“Isn’t it gross how everyone is all coupled up?” Reyna breaches the silence, her nose wrinkled in a grimace. She spins her phone in Cameron’s direction to showcase the particularly sappy Instagram post from Penelope about Josie.

Cameron looks at her with a raised eyebrow. “Why would our friends finding love be gross?” She asks with a straight face.

Ever since Sofiá and Isabella had made it official, Reyna had gotten a lot more vocal about how much love wasn’t for her. She’d made it clear she was happy for them but did not want the same things for herself. Cameron wasn’t sure where that left them. Normally these kinds of things didn’t bother her but she couldn’t help but be envious of all of her best friends. They were growing as people and as couples and they were _thriving_. Cameron felt left out and left behind and with the way Reyna was acting like love was the bubonic plague, Cameron definitely felt alone.

Reyna laughs, looks at her weirdly, “Because everyone knows love is a joke. It’s not a real thing, it’s just a gimmick to make more money on Valentine’s day. I mean it’s not even a real holiday.”

Cameron sighs deeply. “I don’t agree.”

“You’re so naive sometimes, Camz.” Reyna says almost fondly, like Cameron was acting like a stupid little kid.

“No, I think what's naive is trying to close off your heart to something you’ve never felt because you’ve had a few bad experiences.” Cameron fires back quickly, “I think what’s naive is judging other peoples bravery because falling in love is fucking scary and has a 50% chance in ending in heartbreak and you should respect that.”

Reyna’s eyes are almost the size of saucers, her skin a few shades paler as she practically gapes at Cameron. “Jeez, sorry, I didn’t mean to hit a button.”

Cameron scoffs and shoves Reyna’s legs from her lap. “Yeah, you never seem to and yet.” She grabs her jacket and bag and practically flees out of Reyna’s room, ignoring the shouts of her name behind her.

She makes it to her own dorm, thankful that its empty and leans against the wooden door heavily. Lately it was getting much harder to ignore the ache in her heart. She was at a loss for what to do. There wasn’t really a manual on what to do when your mate didn’t want you back but Cameron did know it was a painful slow death. Her wolf wanted Reyna’s plain and simple, each denial and rejection only made her pain worse whether or not Reyna knew what she was doing or not.

Cameron was going to have to do something and she was going to have to do it soon. She couldn’t live like this forever.

-


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a disclaimer this is the next installment in mine and comebackbehere's posie au. This one is Cameron/Reyna centered but will feature Posie and Penelope and all the others.
> 
> TW: for implied and brief mentions of domestic/emotional abuse

“Hey,” Reyna says nervously, shoving a coffee right under Cameron’s nose. “I brought you Starbucks. To apologize.” She says stiltedly. It looks like she’s never apologized a day in her life and Cameron hates how fondness still somehow wells in her chest.

“What are you apologizing for?” Cameron asks, but she accepts the drink anyway. The sweetness explodes on her taste buds and she lets out a happy hum. It’s her exact order, down to the hint of caramel.

“I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Reyna says with a sheepish shrug, “I’ll stop being all anti-love or whatever. Clearly it means a lot to you and I can respect that without having to agree.”

Cameron hides her crestfallen face well. It was like taking two steps forward and then one step back with Reyna most of the time. “Right.” She says weakly, “Thanks.”

Reyna offers her a genuine smile, “Wanna watch a movie later? I’ll even let you pick to further my apology.” She says, clearly proud of herself for taking this step without prompting.

Cameron feels her resolve crumble at the hopefulness in her eyes. “Sure. I’ll swing by after football.”

Reyna beams and flounces away to her desk and Cameron’s heart hammers in her chest. She was absolutely doomed to die a slow, a painful death.

-

Cameron sacks MG three times in a row a lot harder than she should so she really shouldn’t be surprised about the way he springs up from the last tackle and shoves at Cameron’s chest.

“What’s your fucking problem?” MG seethes, “We’re just practicing!”

“Oh come on,” Cameron scoffs, lifting her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow. “It’s not like you can’t take it.”

“That’s not the point!” MG scowls, “This is just friendly. You’re tackling me like I pissed in your cheerios.” He pushes at her chest again and Cameron glares at him hotly.

Josie intervenes before Cameron can even think about losing her temper. She puts her back to MG and pushes Cameron back a few feet so they can talk alone. “Dude, what’s wrong with you? Chill out!” She whispers in a rush.

Cameron pushes off her arms, ever mindful of the fact that Josie was human. “I am chill! Tell him to chill! Does he really think he stands a chance against me?” She laughs darkly at the thought and she knows MG hears her because his jaw tenses.

“Cameron,” Josie calls, “Your eyes are glowing, you really need to take a breath.” She sounds concerned now, laying a hand on Cameron’s shoulder again.

Cameron pushes it away again and takes three steps back, “Don’t touch me.”

Josie lifts her hands in defense, “Okay, I’m sorry, just tell me how to help. Do you want me to get Penelope?”

Cameron breathes deeply for a few minutes and Josie doesn’t offer any more questions but she doesn’t leave. In a weird way it helps calm Cameron down. She closes her eyes and focuses her breathing more and catches faint hints of Penelope still clinging to Josie and it makes all the difference.

“Sorry,” Cameron says hoarsely, her composure centered again, “I’m okay.”

Josie nods easily but she still looks concerned. “What’s going on? Did MG do something? Because-”

“He didn’t do anything.” Cameron tells her, “I just- I don’t know. I know he can take it and I guess I have a lot of tension built up. I’ll apologize to him.” She promises. She makes to move around Josie and go back to the rest of their team but Josie stops her.

“You know you can talk to me right?” Josie says earnestly, “Like whatever’s going on with you, we can talk about it. I know I’m not a wolf but I’m pretty smart so I can probably help.”

Cameron smiles weakly, “Well unless you can suddenly get Reyna to want to accept our mate bond and fall in love with me, I’m afraid you’re no help to me.” She leaves Josie after that and heads back to the center of the field.

She does apologize to MG but she’s sure it lacks the warmth she means to extend when he just nods curtly and avoids her the rest of the practice. For the first time in a long time, football practice adds more to her stress than it does take it away.

-

Reyna picks up on the tension almost immediately.

“What’s with the long face, Camz?” She asks curiously. She’s already in pajamas, sleep shorts and a large plain t shirt, and her hairs up in a ponytail with loose tendrils escaping. She looks so soft and inviting and Cameron feels the tension drain from her shoulders the closer she gets to the bed.

“Long practice.” Cameron sighs, “I hope you have snacks.”

“Duh,” Reyna flashes her a cheeky grin and pulls a small grocery bag from her other side. “I got all your favorites but don’t touch the Hershey bar I’ll kill you.”

Cameron laughs and toes off her shoes, climbs into the bed beside her. “Deal. I want to watch Chicken Little please.”

Reyna eyes her in concern, “Really?”

Cameron nods and doesn't meet her eye. They only ever watched it when Cameron was sad and needed to cheer up. Something about Chicken Little being finally accepted into his little community really resonated and made her happy. That and she loved the animation.

Reyna nudges her shoulder, “Hey you can talk to me ya know?” She whispers, “But if you don’t want to we can watch your pick me up movie.”

Cameron isn’t sure how she’s supposed to talk about her problems with the source of said problems so she just smiles at Reyna thankfully when she plays the movie. If she holds Reyna a little tighter than normal, or clings more than usual, Reyna never brings it up.

-

“Spill your guts.” Penelope demands.

Cameron groans and buries herself deeper into her blankets. “Go’way.”

“Absolutely the fuck not.” Penelope fumes, “I wanna know why you almost _murdered_ MG on the field yesterday and why Josie is suddenly concerned for your mental health.”

Cameron flips over onto her back with a huff, resigned to the fact that Penelope was not going to let this go. “I didn’t almost murder MG.”

“That’s not the way he tells it.” Penelope hums.

“I’m just antsy 'cuz of wolfs time.” Cameron says, not really a lie but definitely not the sole reason.

Penelope slots her hands on her hips and narrows her eyes in a glare. “Do not lie to me, Cameron Gonzales. Wolfs time isn’t for almost two weeks.”

Cameron sits up and scrubs a hand over her face. “I was just frustrated I guess,” She says with a shrug, uncomfortable with talking about it all of a sudden. “Things have been rough.”

Penelope softens in an instant, sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbing Cameron’s hand. “What happened?” She urges gently.

Cameron opens her mouth to respond and cries instead.

-

Penelope storms through the halls with one specific target in mind. She finds it in the quad laughing at Sofiá.

“Hernandez!” Penelope barks out, both girls looking up at her with wide, slightly frightened eyes.

“Woah what’s your problem?” Sofiá frowns.

“My problem,” Penelope drawls, deceptively calm, “Is the fact that Reyna is the most insensitive asshole I’ve ever met in my life and that’s saying something considering I’ve lived with myself the last 19 years.”

“Excuse me?” Reyna snaps, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Penelope bends at the waist to get eye to eye with her, their noses inches apart, “You made Cameron cry, you bitch, you’re lucky I don’t set you on fire.”

Reyna recoils at this, looking troubled but it’s Sofiá who gets in between them.

“Alright cool it, little witch, before you do something you regret.” Sofiá says surprisingly even tempered.

“I didn’t do anything!” Reyna finally recovers, hopping up from the bench like it’s on fire.

“Like hell you didn’t!” Penelope snaps, “Did you ever think for one second how it must feel for your mate to talk about how love is stupid? How it was just a- what was it that you said? A gimmick for profit?”

Even Sofiá winces. “Oh, Rey, you didn’t.”

Reyna’s face lights in a blush, “Because it is!” She practically roars.

Penelope runs at her but gets nowhere when Sofiá body blocks her with an amused snort. “Listen to me, you colossal asshole,” She powers through anyway, “She is falling in love with you! Think about someone else’s feelings for once in your life. You know exactly what the mating bond means to her, we all know what it means to her! Stop treating it like some irrelevant thing because it’s hurting her and I may not be as strong as both of you but I _will_ hurt you if you keep this shit up. Do you got me?”

Reyna’s practically shaking in rage, her eyes dilating back and forth like she was just barely managing to keep herself in check but Penelope could see the shame there too, the guilt adding weight to her shoulders. She probably hadn’t even realized just how bad her words had been affecting Cameron, how her flippant attitude only added salt to the wounds she herself had pried open. Penelope hopes it keeps her up at night the same way it had undoubtedly kept Cameron.

“I said do you got me?” Penelope sneers, pushing against Sofiá’s arms but once again getting nowhere.

“Yes,” Reyna says hoarsely, “I hear you.” She says around a clenched jaw.

“Don’t mention this to her either.” Penelope demands, “It’ll only hurt her more and I think you’ve done enough of that this week don’t you think?”

“Okay you’re done.” Sofiá cuts in firmly, grabbing Penelope’s shoulders and spinning her around. “You said your peace, don’t be a bitch.”

Penelope concedes that point and does in fact walk away before anyone can do anything unrepairable.

-

Cameron finds Josie in the library a few days later.

“Oh, hey,” Josie says around a half smile. “Are you feeling better?”

“No,” Cameron laughs, “But thanks for asking. Do you mind if we just- Can we just not talk about it? Penelope has been hovering and it’s making me feel-”

“-claustrophobic?” Josie answers knowingly.

“Yes.” Cameron sighs, rubbing her forehead, “I love her but I just really don’t want to talk about it.”

Josie grins fondly, “Yeah that’s Penelope for you. She’s more hands on approach. She can’t hold a feeling in to save her life.”

Cameron snorts, “I’ve noticed.”

“We don’t have to talk about it.” Josie says, “We can just do our homework in silence.”

“Thank you.” Cameron says sincerely, “Really.”

“Don’t mention it.”

-

Cameron’s watching Josie and Penelope argue in front of her with avid interest when Reyna is suddenly sliding into the bench seat next to her.

“What are they fighting about?” Reyna asks in a whisper, stealing once of Cameron’s fries and swiping it through ketchup.

“Who’s stronger I think,” Cameron whispers back, “Something about a spell.”

Reyna hums, “They look like they’re about to fuck.”

“ _I know_!” Cameron huffs, “It’s like they’ve forgotten I’m here.”

Reyna grins and tries to stifle it into the skin of Cameron’s exposed bicep. “Where’s the rest of the gang?”

Cameron stares at her flatly. “Already fucking.”

Reyna laughs, “Come on. Let’s leave them to their weird foreplay. I got you a present anyway.”

Cameron perks up at this and she asks a million questions as they head back to Reyna’s door. She stops short at the neatly wrapped package sitting on Reyna’s bed. “Wait did you make your bed just to set the present on it?”

Reyna blushes and punches her in the shoulder. “Don’t be a dick. I didn’t want it getting lost in the blankets.”

Cameron laughs and loops her arm around Reyna’s neck, pulling her into a loose headlock. “You’re the cutest. Can I open it?”

“You reak,” Reyna groans, fighting Cameron’s hold weakly especially when they both know she’s the only one who could give Cameron a run for her money. “You can though, if you want.”

Cameron scoffs and releases her. “Of course I want to! It’s a present!” She’s inspecting the package before she’s even done speaking. It’s light and small. She takes a sniff of it.

Reyna watches her fondly. “I had Bella enchant the paper. Can’t smell it, jockstrap.”

Cameron pouts. “You won’t get offended if I destroy the wrapping paper?”

“Please,” Reyna snorts, “I’m not Josie. Have at it.”

Cameron grins and with one swipe gets the whole front of the present revealed. It’s a video game. A very familiar video game. “How did- I used to play this with Quincy when we were kids.” She says around an awed smile.

Reyna grins shyly, the apples of her cheeks pink. “Me and Sof saw it at the store the other day. I remember you talking about how you missed it. I know you’ve been having a rough week- you don’t have to tell me why!” She rushes to say when Cameron’s face falls, “That’s not why I got it. I just wanted you to feel better.”

Cameron feels like she’s going to cry. “Thank you.” She says very quietly, “Do you- Do you want to play with me?”

Reyna looks surprised. “S-sure. Like right now?”

Cameron shrugs, “If you’re not busy.”

“I’m not. We can- they have the consoles in the commons.” Reyna doesn’t say how she’d made Josie find and buy the console with her student body president money the day before. It somehow feels like it would be too much.

“Then prepared to get schooled on all things Donkey Kong, Hernandez.”

-

Penelope wonders if she and Josie were ever this oblivious in the beginning.

“Should we intervene?” Josie whispers in her ear.

In front of them, Cameron and Reyna are stripping down to just their shorts and sports bra, about to engage in some kind of display of power. They were actually going to wrestle right in the middle of the quad. Penelope thinks this is the gayest thing she’s ever seen and Josie’s head was between her thighs this morning.

“No.” Penelope decides after a beat, tilting her head. “They so clearly want to touch each other. It’s like painfully obvious.”

Isabella is whispering something to Cameron, who stretches her arms and bounces on her toes, nodding seriously.

Sofiá is rubbing at Reyna’s shoulders aggressively, no doubt trash talking if the way Reyna was laughing was anything to go by.

“I bet you a back rub Cameron let’s Reyna win.” Josie says cheekily. She’s got both her arms wrapped around Penelope’s waist, her chin resting on Penelope’s shoulder.

“No way! Cameron’s alpha is not gunna allow it.” Penelope disagrees vehemently, “She snapped Sofiá’s arm that one time remember?”

Josie hums, “A fair point. But Sofiá isn’t Cameron’s mate.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Penelope grumbles, “I still don’t think Reyna’s going to win.”

Cameron and Reyna circle each other at first, Cameron taking playful swipes and Reyna dancing out of reach, but then Cameron’s swipe lands and she gets a hold of Reyna’s wrist. Only Reyna flips her on her back before she lets herself get wrapped in a bear hug.

“Oh shit.” Penelope whispers as Cameron blinks up at the sky.

Reyna looks surprised herself. “Are you okay?” She asks worriedly, leaning over Cameron’s body.

Penelope feels the shift in the air and she knows what’s coming before it happens.

Cameron flips Reyna off her legs with a sweep so quick that Penelope barely sees with her human eyes. Once Reyna hits the ground they’re wrestling in earnest, each fighting to get the other on their back.

They tumble and roll and Penelope winces when Cameron’s head cracks against a nearby fountain’s cement base.

Josie gasps in concern adorably, “Oh my god why is she so rough?”

Penelope smirks, “Oh I’m sorry was that concern in your voice, Saltzman? Suddenly worried for Cameron?”

Josie pinches her. “Cameron’s my friend now.” She says with a raised chin, “Plus she’s the alpha of your pack. I need her in tip top shape to protect you when I can’t.”

“Cute.” Penelope coos, pressing a kiss to Josie’s cheek.

“Kick her ass, Rey!” Sofiá shouts at the still wrestling wolves.

Reyna’s somehow situated herself astride Cameron’s hips, one hand pinning her wrists down and her other pressed to Cameron’s face. “Yield!”

Cameron struggles beneath her. “Never!”

Reyna chokes on a laugh and presses her face harder into the dirt. “Yield or I’ll make you eat it, Gonzales.”

Cameron lets out a low growl and kicks out her legs. It unsettles Reyna just enough for Cameron to make her move. She frees her hand and pushes Reyna off her, face first into the dirt. Reyna doesn’t realize Cameron’s got a knee to her back until it’s too late.

“Ha!” Cameron laughs loudly, “Who’s eating dirt now sucker?”

“Camz,” Reyna gasps, “Can’t breathe.”

Cameron’s eyes go wide as she scrambles off her.

“Fucking dumbass!” Penelope calls out to her, “She’s a vampire! She doesn’t need to breath!”

Reyna gets up with a wicked grin and puts Cameron in a headlock. Cameron looks positively betrayed. “Yield!”

Cameron struggles against her and Reyna coils her arm tighter. Unlike Reyna, she does in fact need to be able to breath.

“Her face is turning blue.” Josie notes a touch uncomfortable.

“Yield,” Reyna says again, less triumphant but still unwilling to let go.

Cameron doesn’t.

“Cameron, yield!” Isabella calls out, “Reyna let her go it’ll force a shift!”

Cameron lets go of her grip on Reyna’s arms and Penelope watches in mild fascination as her hand reaches around and pinches Reyna on the ass.

“Ow!” Reyna shrieks, her arms falling away from Cameron’s neck to rub at her butt cheek. “Did you just pinch me?!”

Cameron laughs around gasping for breath, a devilish smirk on her face. “You cheated first!”

“I did not!”

“You did too!”

Reyna tackles Cameron into the dirt again but this time they fall into a weird trance, just staring at each other’s eyes while weakly pushing the other. It’s not even a fraction of the strength from before and Penelope scoffs.

“What did I tell you? They just want to rub their bodies together.”

Josie laughs in amusement. “I don’t blame them. I wanna rub my body all over yours too.” She says in a low purr just for her. She even squeezes a little tighter, their bodies pressed together close.

Sofiá whips her head around to glare at them. “Don’t be nasty.”

“Mind your business.” Penelope claps back.

“Uh guys,” Isabella calls their attention, “Should we hose them down?”

Cameron and Reyna are just grinning at each other, their faces very close for two people who were resolutely not dating. Reyna’s still sitting on Cameron’s stomach and for a second Penelope can actually feel the tension between them even from as far away as she was. It’s like they both hold their breath and Josie grips tighter to Penelope’s hand because Cameron and Reyna look like they’re about to kiss.

They don’t.

Reyna seems to catch herself leaning forward and stops abruptly, getting up from Cameron’s stomach. “I yield.” Reyna says shakily, extending a hand to help Cameron up.

Penelope feels as crestfallen as Josie looks.

-

Wolfs time comes a lot stronger than Cameron expects.

Isabella swears it feels like normal but Cameron feels more restless than she ever remembers. It’s like her wolf knows it’s going to be free and it can’t wait to sink it’s paws into the dirt and run through the trees hunting anything with a pulse.

Cameron’s standing in the field, already clad in her tight white bandeau and short shorts. She stretches her limbs, the moon revitalizing and relaxing her as the shift time draws near.

“You’re like, super antsy.” Isabella takes note with a small frown.

“It’s been a long month.” Cameron laughs.

“Reyna still being dense?” Isabella asks knowingly.

Cameron frowns in thought, “Actually she hasn’t been so bad lately. She didn’t even say anything about the flowers Sof got you which was really surprising.” She says with a small laugh.

Now that she thinks about it, Reyna had been pretty closed mouthed on the whole love being stupid topic after Cameron’s impressively dramatic storm out. She wasn’t exactly sure where the silence had suddenly come from but she’d been grateful for it all the same. The whole situation made her tense and agitated these days.

“I know she wanted to though,” Isabella says as she takes off her shoes. “You can see it in the disgust on her face.”

Cameron smiles fondly. “She’s- when I pictured who my mate would be she’s both not what I expected _at all_ but still somehow everything I think I’ve ever needed.”

“Baring being anti love.” Isabella adds in.

Cameron nods. “Exactly.”

“Honestly I feel so bad for us sometimes.” Isabella says, “I feel like everyone else got to go through the mate process easy. I know me and Sof are good now but, god, it was so hard in the beginning.”

“I know.” Cameron says with a sad smile, “But if there’s anything my 18 years of existence has taught me, it’s that the best things in life don’t come easy.”

Isabella wrinkles her nose, “I mean true but it still sucks. I like putting in minimal effort where I can.”

“And that is why I’m going to have a full stomach tonight and you’re going to starve.” Cameron says cheekily. She leaps forward and when her feet hit the ground again they’re no longer feet but giant paws.

Isabella’s shift takes a little longer despite having done more of them. Her wolf is slightly smaller than Cameron’s and a deep shade of grey in contrast to Cameron’s stark white, the tips of her feet and tail splotched with white. She bites down on Cameron’s back leg hard enough to hurt and then takes off into the trees in an impressive display of agility.

Cameron growls and speeds after her.

They spend the majority of the night together, running and playing and taking down a deer together but eventually they make it to the lake that served as their rendezvous point. Reyna doesn’t join them because she never does. She shifts and frolics around on the other side of town with Sofiá. Cameron understands why even if she doesn’t like it. In their wolf forms, there was no way for them to ignore the ramifications of their mate bond.

In the end it was probably safest for everyone.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a disclaimer this is the next installment in mine and comebackbehere's posie au. This one is Cameron/Reyna centered but will feature Posie and Penelope and all the others.
> 
> TW: for implied and brief mentions of domestic/emotional abuse

Reyna Hernandez had spent her _entire_ life on the run. Sometimes she had to remind herself that ripping people from limb to limb was _not_ the way to problem solve even if it sounded very, very appealing right now.

“Are you going to do something or keep staring?” Sofiá asks her in amusement, paying more attention to her food than Reyna’s morality crisis.

They’re sitting in the quad enjoying some free time but Reyna is having a hard time enjoying anything because a couple hundred feet in front of them Cameron is in the middle of a group of girls telling some kind of animated story that they all laugh and fawn at. Reyna knows Cameron very well and while she had her moments she wasn't _that_ funny.

“Me doing something involves murder.” Reyna says with a straight face, “That’s frowned upon here.”

Sofiá snorts, “Truly a shame in my opinion. I think we should be free to kill anyone who annoys us.”

Isabella chooses them to get to their table, her eyebrows disappearing into her hairline as she sits beside Sofiá. “What happened?”

“Reyna is jealous that Cameron is paying attention to all those girls and not her.” Sofiá chirps, leaning in to give her girlfriend a kiss. It’s chaste at first but then Sofiá goes back for seconds that get inappropriate very quickly.

Reyna bulks at Sofiá’s statement. “I’m not jealous!” She says vehemently, “It’s just annoying how they’re crowding around her. It’s just me being protective of my pack.” She grumbles, mainly to herself because Sofiá and Isabella are lost in themselves.

The words chip at her though, stringing together something she’d rather not deal with right now. It’d been happening more and more lately, especially once Sofiá and Isabella had made it official. Everyone was all coupled off and more than once had Reyna caught Cameron staring at the couples wistfully. It made her feel terribly guilty. It wasn’t like she didn’t care for Cameron deeply because she _did_ but there was so much in a mating bond that she wasn’t ready for. She didn’t want to be someone’s property, not ever again, so friends was safe even though it started to feel like more of a lie with each passing day.

“I’m not jealous.” Reyna says again, much more firmly. She means to glare at Sofiá but neither girls are looking at her. She lands a kick square into Sofiá’s back that sends them both flying off the bench.

“What the fuck!” Sofiá hisses, her eyes gleaming as she glares at Reyna.

“Winds are strong today.” Reyna says innocently, popping a fry into her mouth casually.

Sofiá looks like she’s going to charge her but then her eyes drift to just past Reyna’s shoulder and she huffs in exasperation instead. “Of course your guard dog shows up.”

Reyna turns and comes face to face with Cameron’s stomach. “Oh, hey, Camz.”

Cameron stares at Sofiá flatly until Sofiá sticks her the finger and takes off with Isabella in her arms. “What was that about?” She asks Reyna curiously, taking the now vacated seat.

“She wasn’t paying attention to me so I kicked her in the back.” Reyna says easily.

Cameron’s smile is a touch teasing. “There are better ways to get someone’s attention ya know?”

“Oh yeah, like telling a bunch of jokes and getting girls to hang off your every word?” Reyna says snippily. She can’t really help it with the way unknown perfume wafts off Cameron in waves.It only serves to add fuel to the fire already burbling in her chest.

Cameron frowns, “Uh, I guess that’s one way you can do it? Depends on how funny you are I guess?” She’s trying for oblivious but Reyna knows better. She can feel the tension building between them and even if Cameron is good at pretending for everyone else, she can’t lie to Reyna, not with their bond.

“Sorry,” Reyna grumbles begrudgingly.

Cameron doesn’t say anything for a long moment but when she does, Reyna wishes she’d never said anything at all. “Would it really be such a bad thing if I gave my attention to someone else?”

Reyna feels something hot and spikey settle in her chest. “You can do whatever you want, Cameron, you’re not my girlfriend.” She says scathingly, fleeing from the table. She can practically hear Cameron’s heartbreaking behind her.

-

“There’s a disturbance in the force.” Penelope says in monotone.

Josie looks up from her books with a raised eyebrow. “What?”

“Something happened,” Penelope says, a frown working it’s way up on to her face. “I can feel it.”

“Okay,” Josie drawls, used to all her idiosyncrasies already, “Who did it happen to?”

Penelope sighs, “Definitely Cameron.”

-

Penelope finds her laying on the grass on a hill overlooking the quad. “I’ve been looking for you.”

Cameron doesn’t do anything more than stare up at the moon miserably.

Penelope lays down beside her after placing a blanket down first. Cameron may have enjoyed the grass tickling her skin but Penelope most certainly did not. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“If I wanted you to make it go away would you?”

Penelope doesn’t even need to ask to know what she means. “Yes.”

Cameron sighs deeply and Penelope waits her out.

“It hurts.” Cameron says simply, “When she says things that go against our bond. Sometimes I can feel her actively try and turn her feelings off and that hurts too.”

“It’ll also hurt if I try and strip the bond, it could almost kill you.” Penelope tells her honestly. They’d figured out how to break the mate bond between Sofiá and Isabella a long time ago as a precaution because Sofiá was a basket case and they didn’t want anyone getting hurt. It was more feasible then because Sofiá was a vampire and technically already dead. Cameron was very much alive and the spell they’d concocted could very well kill her.

“Sometimes I feel like it’s worth the risk.” Cameron whispers.

Penelope feels her heart break at the pain in her best friend’s voice. She wished she could take this pain away from her or better yet she wishes she could knock some sense into Reyna’s head. It just wasn’t that easy. Reyna had dealt with god only knows what while she was on the run and even though they were urging her into therapy, there was a lot of damage to repair. It was a miracle really that Reyna and Sofiá trusted any of them at all.

“It’s gunna be okay, Camz. You just gotta have a little patience.” Penelope tells her but it sounds weak to even her own ears.

“That’s the thing, Pen,” Cameron sighs, “I feel like I’ve finally run out.”

-

“She’s different you know.” Sofiá says suddenly, breaching the quiet around them.

They’re camping out in the forest tonight to spend time together. The fire in front of them is strong and crackling and for a moment it’s like it was before. Only this time there’s no starving hunger, no tiredness and depression, the fear of someone watching them. Just two friends hanging out. Normally they’d be half way to drunk by now but the night feels somber. Reyna supposes that’s her fault.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Reyna whispers into her drawn up knees.

Sofiá cranes her neck to look at her lazily. “We should though. You’re all broody and acting stupid.”

Reyna’s face flexes in outrage. “Hey fuck you! You think because you’re suddenly in a relationship you have all the advice? Please.” She scoffs defensively, squeezing even tighter at her knees.

Sofiá raises an eyebrow slowly. “No.” She says pointedly, “Because you just snapped at me for calling you out.”

Reyna stays stubbornly silent.

“Isabella and I don’t have it all figured out.” Sofiá tells her softly, “We have no idea what we’re doing.” She admits unashamed. “But we talk about it and we’re honest with each and we don’t pretend our bond isn’t there.”

“I’m scared.” Reyna admits quietly. “I’m scared of how much I’ll love her. Of what it’ll feel like to lose her if we ever become more than friends.”

Sofiá smiles sadly and shifts closer on the log so she can toss an arm over Reyna’s shoulders. “I know. I’m scared too but, Rey, I promise you when you’re with her? Like actually with her? All of those things disappear.”

Reyna sniffles a little, the grip on her knees almost bruising. “She’s too good for me.”

Sofiá shrugs. “Yeah you’re right. So be better for her.”

Reyna doesn’t even know where to begin. She’d spent her whole life running, from her past and from harm, she could barely integrate into society let alone be a good person. Her hands were much too bloody for that. Cameron was too good for her plain and simple. She didn’t know how she could even try to change that.

“Don’t overthink it.” Sofiá scolds mildly, “Just stop fighting yourself.”

“I already lied to her,” Reyna protest weakly, “I told her our mate bond was just friends.”

Sofiá scoffs, “We all knew that was bullshit.”

Reyna blushes, “That doesn’t help me. In fact it makes it worse.”

“Yeah, well,” Sofiá shrugs unrepentant, “It’s the truth.”

“I don’t know how to be what she wants me to be.” Reyna admits, she almost has to force the words out even though this is Sofiá, the girl who’d saved her and had her back since the very first time they met. “I don’t want to be reduced to an alpha’s mate again, I don’t want someone telling me what to do. I just got my freedom, Sof, how am I supposed to give that up?”

Sofiá closes the distance between them with one easy shift, tossing her arm over Reyna’s shoulder as she sighs. “Rey, that girl loves you, even with all your prickly edges. She doesn’t want you to be anyone but yourself.”

Reyna isn’t sure how that’s supposed to work. How is she supposed to stay true to herself while bending to someone else’s will? It was a question she was going to need to find an answer to soon because she didn’t want to keep hurting Cameron either. “Having emotion sucks.” She says throatily, resting her head heavily on Sofiá’s shoulder.

Sofiá huffs a laugh, “Tell me about it.”

-

“I need to talk to you.” Cameron says in a panic as she barges into her and Josie’s shared room.

Penelope squeaks, slides off of Josie’s hips and tugs the fallen blanket around both of their bodies. “Cameron! We’re a little busy!”

“Some girl just asked me out.” Cameron says in a rush, her eyes wide and her hands knotted in front of her.

“Uh oh,” Josie mumbles beneath Penelope.

“Who?” Penelope frowns, “When? How? Why?”

Cameron lets out a distressed whine. “Francesa. 5 minutes ago in the library. She asked if I wanted to get dinner with her tonight and I have no idea why but I’m freaking out!” She hadn’t thought anything of Francesca coming up to her in the library and asking for her help. Although wolf studies wasn’t her strong suit, math and science were and she often had kids asking her for help or reviewing their work. She thought that’s what Francesca was doing but then she’d stayed a little longer and they’d had what Cameron thought was a friendly conversation until Francesca had asked her out.

“Oh my god,” Penelope gapes, her surprise makes Cameron feel a lot better, “What did you say?”

“I ran here.” Cameron is unashamed to admit that she’d practically fled the library, not even answering Francesca’s question before she’d muttered some excuse about needing to meet Penelope immediately.

Penelope laughs wholeheartedly as does Josie and Cameron pouts at them. “It’s not funny.”

“It’s just hilarious,” Penelope continues laughing, “She was probably so obvious that she was going to ask you out and you missed all the cues.”

Cameron shifts uncomfortably, “You know I’m bad at this.”

“I know,” Penelope says fondly, “It’s like you’re immune to how hot you are. So what are you going to do?”

Cameron pauses then. She hadn’t even really thought about answering Francesca’s question, she’d just been so panicked on someone asking her out. She wasn’t sure how it was supposed to go, no one had asked her out before. “I-I don’t know.”

“Francesca’s a nice girl.” Josie finally pipes in, leaning up on her elbow, her body shielded behind Penelope’s. “I think you should say yes.”

Cameron swallows thickly, her eyes wide and pleading when she looks at Penelope.

Penelope looks sympathetic. “I don’t have any answer for you, Camz. It’s your decision.”

“My-my decision.” Cameron repeats, nodding slowly, “But I- I’m mated to Reyna.”

Josie sits up suddenly, the sheet almost slipping from around her chest but Penelope manages to hold it up for her. Cameron isn’t even paying that close attention, too lost in her own head with vacant wide eyes. “Hey,” Josie calls to her, “Listen to me very closely okay?”

Cameron’s eyes shift to Josie’s as she nods slowly.

“You’re not a slave to your mate claim, especially if that claim gets toxic. If Reyna doesn’t want to be with you like that then that’s her choice, but her choice doesn’t get to keep you from being happy. Take it from someone who lost out on a lot of happiness before they got it right.” Josie is firm but gentle as she tells this to Cameron and she shoots Penelope a small knowing smile.

Penelope is always surprised at how much her love for this girl continues to grow especially as Josie herself continues to grow and mature. “She’s right.” Penelope says after a beat.

Cameron looks like she’s about to cry. She looks so distressed and pleading, like she wants Penelope to tell her the right thing to do but Penelope can’t do that. She won’t dictate her best friend’s life in any kind of fashion. That wasn’t what their bond was about.

“You can say yes to Francesca if you want,” Penelope tells her, “I see how you look at everyone when we’re all coupled off. You don’t have to deprive yourself of happiness or experiences because Reyna isn’t ready or on the same page as you.” She says gently.

“But I love her.” Cameron cries. She seems to curl into herself then, crying openly and unabashed into her palms. Penelope feels her heart break in half at the sight. She gets off the bed quickly and pulls on a large tshirt and Josie’s boxers. In seconds she’s got Cameron wrapped up in her arms, holding her as she cries.

“It’s gunna be okay, Cameron, it’s gunna be okay.” Penelope promises, near tears herself. She hears the bed creak behind her and after some rustling, Josie is joining in on their hug.

-

“What’s wrong with you?” Isabella asks with a concerned frown from where she’s perched on Sofiá’s lap. Sofiá turns to look at her in interest as well.

Reyna rubs absently at her chest, a frown on her face, “Nothing, just, my chest feels funny.”

“Could she have a heart after all?” Sofiá asks sarcastically, grinning when Isabella slaps her shoulder.

“Probably just heartburn.” Reyna says firmly, even though she has an inkling as to exactly what it was.

Isabella is the only one who looks at her like she doesn’t believe her, Sofiá already turning back to their movie, but she doesn’t say anything and Reyna is grateful.

-

  
They’re all enjoying lunch together when Reyna’s world implodes on itself.

Penelope is telling a story, something about a stink bomb potion in class today, Josie offers her own input wherever she can and everyone is clearly entertained by it. Isabella is sitting in Sofiá’s lap as per usual but for once Sofiá’s hands stay in clear view, resting only half possessively against Isabella’s belly. Even she looks intrigued by this story.

Cameron looks like she’s only half paying attention. There’s an amused smile on her face but her eyes are significantly dull. Reyna had spent the majority of the time staring at her. They’d been off the past few days, even since Reyna had lost her cool in the quad, and they just hadn’t quite recovered. It had taken Reyna a bit to realize just what was the hold up and she’d been almost sick when she’d figured out it was Cameron purposely blocking herself off.

It certainly wasn’t a nice feeling. She’s thinking about asking Cameron to come back to their dorm so they can talk when Francesca Garcia comes flouncing up to their table.

“Hey Cameron,” Francesca says sweetly, waving at the rest of the table. Josie is the only one who waves back like she knows her.

Reyna feels the hair on the back of her neck raise.

“H-hi, Francesca, hey.” Cameron stutters out, her face turning red.

“You ran out on me earlier,” Francesca says playfully, “Are we still on for dinner tonight?”

Reyna inhales deeply from her nose, the muscles in her arms tensing where she grabs the edge of the table. She’s unsurprised to feel the wood splinter in her hands. Cameron refuses to look at her. The entirety of the table has gone still now, eyes on Cameron.

“Uhm,” Cameron meets her eyes once and for the first time since they’ve met Reyna can’t read her. “Maybe not tonight.” She says gently.

Reyna releases the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. Francesca looks crestfallen.

“Oh,” Francesca says, “Right okay-“

“Maybe tomorrow night would be better?” Cameron offers up instead, a charming little smile on her face, “If that’s okay with you, of course.”

Francesca beams and nods and Reyna has to sit there and bite her tongue while this random girl gives Cameron her number. She leaves them after and Cameron turns back to the group like nothing happened.

“Are you fucking serious?” Reyna demands, that hot and spikey feeling in her chest again.

Everyone else looks back and forth between them like they’re waiting for something to explode. Reyna is sure it’s going to be her.

“What?” Cameron asks with a raised eyebrow and Reyna detects something like an attitude in her voice.

“You’re really just gunna pretend you didn’t set up a hook up in front of us?” Reyna asks incredulously.

“You’re not my girlfriend, what do you care?” Cameron snaps back at her.

Reyna is surprised at how much those words hurt especially knowing they’re an exact mirror of what she’d said herself days ago. The idea of Cameron going out with someone else actually makes her feel sick.

“Woah,” Sofiá cuts in, eyes narrowed in a glare, “Watch your fucking tone when you speak to her.”

“Stay out of it, Hernandez.” Penelope cautions. She doesn’t look happy by any means but she looks determined not to swing one way or another.

“Who I date is no one’s business but my own.” Cameron says and her tone holds no room for discussion, an alpha through and through. She looks at Reyna almost challengingly.

For a beat Reyna wants to say just what’s on her mind, how she was trying to figure her shit out, how she’d been lying when she said she thought they were only meant to be friends, how she didn’t want Cameron to be with someone else who wasn’t her but she couldn’t find the words. Even if she could she couldn’t find the courage either, not in front of all their friends.

“She’s right.” Reyna says finally, her voice a little hoarse. Sofiá looks at her in shock and confusion but Reyna ignores her for the time being. “Cameron can date whoever she wants.”

She pretends not to notice how disappointed and hurt Cameron looks. The rest of their lunch is ruined.

-

“I’m so nervous.”

Josie snorts a laugh. “Oh I didn’t know it was your first date too babe?”

Cameron spins around from the mirror, looking quite dapper in a white short sleeved shirt adorned with tiny black bows. “Should I do all the buttons or?”

“Leave the top one open.” Penelope advises, ignoring Josie. “Do you want me to pin your hair back?”

“Yes please.” Cameron says as she undoes her top most button. “Should I change my pants? Does it make my butt look weird?”

“Your jeans look fine.” Josie assures her, “Wear those white Nike’s you always get pissy about. It’ll match nice.”

Cameron glares at Josie. “They’re still new looking. Excuse me if I don’t want people getting dirt on them.”

“What are your date plans?” Josie asks her instead of choosing to comment.

“Dinner and a movie.” Cameron says, her chest puffing like she’s proud of herself. Penelope grunts with a mouthful of pins and slaps her to keep her still. “A timeless classic.”

“That’s what Penelope did on our first date.” Josie says with fondness.

“You have no idea how many times Josie has put out over a good movie and dinner.” Penelope says with a lecherous grin.

“Penelope!”

Penelope laughs as she dodges the pillow Josie launches her way. “What? It’s true!”

“I know but you didn’t have to tell Cameron that!”

Cameron smiles softly at the pair of them. “I don’t want her to put out. I’m still a virgin and I’m definitely not ready for that kind of thing.”

“Wait seriously?” Penelope whirls around, “How did I not know this?”

Cameron shrugs, “You never asked.”

“I just assumed-” Penelope’s eyes go wide, her lips clamping shut but it’s too late because Josie is getting off the bed with a finger pointed straight at Penelope.

“What was that Pen?” Josie grins almost manically, “You assumed? But when I do it-”

Penelope waves her hand, “Josie! This is about Cameron!”

Josie pinches her in retaliation before turning to Cameron, “It’s okay that you’re a virgin. Francesca’s not gunna care plus she actually likes you or something so I don’t think that’s what this is about.”

“Okay,” Cameron breathes a sigh in relief.

“Also Reyna would _murder_ her.” Penelope grumbles underneath her breath.

Josie and Cameron both glare at her, “Not helping.”

“She would though.” Penelope says defensively.

“Is she-” Cameron looks up at both of them with wide doe eyes, “Is Reyna mad?”

“That doesn’t matter.” Josie says firmly, “What matters is you going out and having fun with Francesca.”

Cameron nods slowly, “Right, of course. I should go actually, uhm, I’ll see you guys later?”

“We’ll wait up for you.” Penelope promises and then Cameron is off, shooting them one last nervous smile before she goes. “So we shouldn’t tell her that Reyna is most definitely furious?”

“No,” Josie sighs, “You gotta let it explode on its own.”

“It’s gunna be so bad, Jojo.”

“Sometimes the only way to get someone to open their eyes is to shove them to the extreme.” Josie says in monotone.

“Hey,” Penelope calls her softy, “You know there’s no hard feelings right? We’re good now.”

Josie smiles at her and presses a kiss to her forehead, “Yeah I know. Just sometimes Reyna reminds me of me and I wonder if how Cameron feels is how you felt and it makes me sad.”

“Well it definitely wasn’t as dramatic as them that’s for sure.” Penelope grumbles, slinging her arm across Josie’s waist, “But it wasn’t fun either.”

“But we’re together now and we’re happy so it’s okay.” Penelope assures her. “Now come on, let’s take advantage of your empty room before she comes back.”

Josie grins, “Yes ma’am.”

-

It’s well past midnight when Cameron slinks back into the dorm room.

Josie is dead asleep but Penelope stuck true to her word about staying up. She isn’t really surprised when Cameron shuffles her way into the small open space next to Penelope.

“How was it?” Penelope whispers, hands clasped under her cheek.

Cameron stares up at the ceiling for a long moment and then, “Really, really, good.”

“Did you kiss?”

“...yeah…”

“Did you like it?”

“...yeah…”

“Are you going to see her again?”

Cameron’s sigh is extra heavy. “Yeah. I think I am.”

-

“I think we should go to the beach.” Isabella is saying, “My skin needs to rejuvenate.”

“Your skin is perfect.” Sofiá coos, even going so far as to nip said skin playfully.

“I could do with some beach time.” Penelope nods slowly, “Anything to see Josie half naked to be honest.”

Josie chokes on her next mouthful of food, flushing all the way down to her neck. She grumbles something unintelligible and smacks at Penelope's thigh somewhere beneath the table.

Reyna is only half paying attention to them because she’s too busy staring at Cameron. Cameron who’s had her eyes glued to her phone the moment she’d sat down. She hadn’t even touched her food yet and Reyna was trying very hard not to react the way she wanted.

“-you listening, bitch?”

“Huh?” Reyna blinks at Sofiá in confusion.

Sofiá raises an eyebrow slowly. “You down to come to the beach?”

“Sure,” Reyna says neutrally, “I won’t tan but sure.”

“I wonder if we could make a potion for that.” Isabella says in mild interest.

Josie too looks curious at this.

“Camz,” Reyna calls out, “You down?”

Cameron makes no kind of acknowledgement that she’s heard her. Reyna sucks in a deep calming breath.

“Uh oh.” She hears someone murmur from further down the table. Probably Josie.

“Cameron.” Reyna tríes again, a little louder this time. Still no answer. She winds her leg up and kicks the bench seat right between Cameron’s spread legs only she misjudges how hard she kicks because the wood gives and Cameron goes flying backwards, as do Josie and Penelope.

Cameron blinks up in shock, her phone still somehow in her hand. “What the fuck?”

“Reyna what the hell?” Penelope cries out, jumping up from the ground and helping a sluggish Josie up to her feet.

“My bad,” Reyna says in slight remorse, a little shocked herself at just how strong she’d kicked it. “I didn’t mean to kick it that hard.”

The three of them stare in varying forms or shock and confusion.

Isabella laughs nervously, “So beach?”

-

“I know how this is gunna sound coming from me,” Sofiá begins, just a touch uncomfortable, “But you gotta chill.”

Reyna crosses her arms and glares up at her best friend. “I am chill.”

Sofiá laughs without humor, “You’re not though. Look, I get it, you’ve got a lot of emotions going on inside you but you gotta watch your strength. You coulda hurt little witch which is not cool.”

“You’re right.” Reyna murmurs, “Its just- I don’t-“

“I get it.” Sofiá cuts in, “Don't give yourself an aneurysm tryna figure it out just,” She displays her hands wide and exaggerates a deep breath, “Fucking chill.”

Reyna certainly tries. Half way through their beach trip and Francesca Garcia makes her appearance with two of her friends in toe. It’d been hard to watch the way Cameron had been practically ogling Francesca in her two piece bathing suit. It also made her realize just how much she’d enjoyed and even counted on Cameron’s eyes on her at all times. She felt surprisingly cold without it.

“You don’t look like you’re having fun.”

Reyna glares at Josie flatly. “I’m having buckets of fun what are you talking about?”

“You’re sulking in the sand.” Josie says with a small smile.

“I’m tanning.”

“Okay,” Josie nods easily, “If you want to ignore your feelings be my guest but don’t ruin this for her.” She says firmly, her jaw clenched.

Reyna feels her hackles rise, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Josie raises an eyebrow slowly, “She deserves to be happy. With or without you.”

“And you think she’s gunna be happy with _her_?” Reyna asks incredulously, scoffing as her arms cross over her chest. “Please.”

Josie shrugs, “I think she’s happy right now and that’s all that matters. Who knows maybe she’ll fall in love.”

Reyna clenches her jaw. “I’d like this conversation to be over now.”

Josie merely smiles and backs away just as easily as she’d came.

Even though Reyna knows Josie has a point she still struggles to force herself to participate. She even finds herself engaging in conversation with Francesca. It’s stilted and awkward but the beaming smile Cameron gives her makes it worth it.

“You look like you’re having as much fun as me.” A girl with electric purple hair tells her. Her bathing suit is black and a direct contrast to the paleness of her skin. She too looks like she’d rather be anywhere else.

“Who are you?” Reyna asks an eyebrow raised.

“Ryan,” The girl says, “One of Francesca’s friends.”

“Of course,” Reyna sighs, “Look I don’t wanna be impolite but-“

“You hate Francesca cuz you’re in love with Cameron.” Ryan chirps, “I understand.”

Reyna gapes at her.

“I’m in love with Francesca so I hate Cameron.” Ryan admits with a small sigh, “Sucks though because Cameron is very nice and sweet.”

“Well,” Reyna says with a wry smirk, extending her elbow, “Misery sure does love company.”

Ryan smiles and loops their arms together. “Yes it does.”

-

“I was working my way up to telling her.” Reyna finds herself admitting.

The sun has long since set and they were all still on the beach only one of the boys had started a small fire and they’d somehow procured marshmallows and chocolate. Reyna and Ryan were sat further back from the group around the fire, watching all the couples be happy and cute feeding each other smores.

Ryan looks over at Reyna in mild interest.

“Like, super close to telling her.” Reyna continues on, “But then Francesca asked her out and it sort of went downhill from there.”

“You’re braver than me.” Ryan tells her, “I don’t think I’ll ever tell her. I’m too scared to lose her she’s all I’ve got.”

Reyna nods seriously. “It’s so scary. I don’t get how people just do it.”

“Me either,” Ryan laughs, “But I’ve always been the suffer in silence type.” She says with an unaffected shrug.

“Yeah,” Reyna says, her throat suddenly thick with tears, “Me too.”

-

The knock on Reyna’s door is tentative and she knows who it is before she’s even close enough to answer it.

“Hey,” Cameron greets, a small smile on her face, “Can I come in?”

Reyna hasn’t seen her without her new little girlfriend in a while so seeing her alone was a welcome sight. “Sure.” She steps back to allow Cameron entrance and can’t quite help the grimace that passes when she gets a whiff of Cameron’s scent mingled with someone else’s.

Cameron looks awkward standing in the middle of the room with her hands shoved deep into her pants pockets. Reyna recognizes her attraction now because while yes there was fondness there, there was also the sinking realization that Cameron was really hot without even meaning to be and that just made Reyna more attracted to her.

“I thought we should talk.” Cameron starts, the unease is plain on her face but so is the determination. “We haven’t really- we haven’t really hung out since I started d-dating Francesca and I just don’t- I don’t want there to be tension between us.”

Reyna watches her fumble through her words, a war of emotions inside her. She crosses her arms over her chest to keep them from spilling out. “Is that what you’re doing? Dating her?”

Cameron blinks, “Yes. She’s my girlfriend.” She says firmly.

Reyna hadn’t expected it to hurt that bad however unsurprising it was. “We’re fine, Cameron. There’s no need to explain yourself to me.”

“We’re not though,” Cameron argues, “I feel like you’re mad at me and if it’s because I snapped at you last time then I’m sorry and I’d really like us to go back to how we were.” She looks so hopeful that Reyna feels her resolve to stay angry crumble. There was no way in hell they could go back to the way they were before but for Cameron she could at least try.

“I’m not mad at you.” Reyna admits honestly, her body finally bleeding it’s tension. She was more mad at herself than anything. “It’s just weird is all, having to share you.” It’s a half truth but it’s close enough to her actual feelings on the matter to pass as an excuse.

Cameron grins lopsidedly, amused, “You’re so spoiled.” She says fondly and Reyna can’t help but smile back, “How does Sofiá deal with you?”

Reyna shrugs, “She has no choice. I just show up whether she wants me to or not.”

Cameron laughs at this, “Well I promise to be better about splitting my time, okay?”

Reyna, though her heart is bleeding, is still touched by this gesture. “Okay.”

Cameron claps her hands, “Great, now that that’s out of the way, wanna go get some food?”

Reyna couldn’t tell her no if she tried.

-

“It’s like the roles are reversed.” Sofiá says, a puff of smoke rising from her mouth.

“Huh?”

“Yeah! You’ve switched bodies.” Sofiá says again, her eyes hazy and wide, “She was waiting for you and now you’re waiting for her.”

Reyna takes a long puff of the joint and stares at Sofiá critically. “You’re high.”

“And you’re an idiot.” Sofiá counters just as easily, “I’m right, you’re wrong, I’m big, you’re small.”

Reyna squints, “Did you lace this again?”

Sofiá snorts, “No, listen,” She flicks Reyna in the forehead and waits until Reyna focuses on her with equally hazy eyes, “You have swapped.”

“Who?” Reyna frowns, “I’m so confused.”

Sofiá laughs, delighted and tosses her arm over Reyna’s shoulders. “Exactly! That’s your fucking problem! You figured it out too slow and now she’s gone away…” She mimes a floating gesture that Reyna follows with her eyes, still frowning immensely, “And now you have to wait. Like she waited for you.”

Reyna bobs her head, her mouth forming an ‘o’, “You mean Cameron.”

“Yes.” Sofiá confirms, “You are almost at a full circle. Then it’ll be complete like the moon.”

“So I wait?” Reyna asks slowly.

Sofiá nods, “Yes, you guys are soulmates. The universe has your back. I have your back too.”

Reyna’s grin is slow to form, her face pleasantly numb, “I got your back too. I can wait forever because I love her.”

Sofiá squeals, “Ah, you finally said it, I’m so proud!” She cups Reyna’s cheeks in her palms and smacks a wet kiss to the center of her forehead. She leans back just as quick, wiping an honest to god tear from her eye. “They grow up so fast.”

“Stop, don’t cry it’ll make me cry!” Reyna flails one of her hands blindly and before she even realizes the two of them have dissolved into tears.

Isabella finds them the next morning curled around each other with their make up smeared and merely takes a picture for blackmail before waking them.

-

Reyna thinks it’s weird just how unalphalike Cameron really was. She wasn’t controlling or possessive of Francesca. In fact she barely batted an eye at the guys and girls Francesca talked to, even the ones who Reyna personally thought were flirty.

“Doesn’t it make you mad?” Reyna asks Cameron when she can’t hold her silence anymore, her eyes fixated on Cameron’s face, searching for any kind of unsavory emotion.

Cameron slurps her noodles a little quicker and looks up. “Does what make me mad?”

“The fact that she’s just sitting over there with a bunch of guys.” Reyna points out.

Cameron pushes her glasses up her nose and looks over her shoulder to where Francesca is sitting with her friends. “Uh there’s like two guys over there and four girls so it’s hardly a bunch of guys. Either way no. She can be friends with whoever she wants.” She says easily, shrugging her shoulders and turning back to her food.

“What kind of alpha are you?” Reyna asks incredulously.

Cameron stiffens, her head lifting slowly. The anger on her face is familiar and Reyna feels triumphant that it’s finally reared its head but it’s gone in the next second, replaced with disappointment instead. “Is that what you really think of me? Some loose canon barbarian?”

Reyna feels like her mouth has suddenly been stitched shut.

Cameron only looks sadder at her silence. “Wow, well I’ll just get away from you then. Wouldn’t wanna overwhelm you with all my alphaness.” She gets up quickly and moves to walk away but she turns back around just as quickly. “You know I can’t control what I am anymore than you can right?” She doesn’t give Reyna a chance to respond before she’s taking off again.

Cameron dumps her unfinished food out without a blink and leaves the cafeteria completely and Reyna really wishes she’d stop accidentally pissing her off.

-

“Another one,” Francesca laughs, seated securely on Cameron’s lap as she takes selfies of them. Cameron obliges easily, presses a kiss to Francesca's cheek and Francesca grins and snaps the picture.

Reyna tries not to watch them but she’s only half successful.

“Hey,” Isabella slides into the bench seat beside her with a small smile. “You okay?”

Reyna barks a laugh, “Absolutely not but what’s new right?”

“Wanna talk about it?” Isabella whispers, a knowing smile on her face.

Reyna rolls her eyes fondly. “You guys aren’t slick you know? Everyone all of a sudden wants me to talk about my feelings.”

“We just wanna help.” Isabella shrugs, “Plus I’ve been there before so I know how it goes. Sofiá didn’t want me in the beginning remember?”

Reyna winces at the memory. “I’m not- okay just- I don’t get why she acts like that?” She finally blurts out, a lot more exasperated than she intends. It’d been driving her insane. Now that she wasn’t actively avoiding the couple, she’d watched their interactions with more confusion every day. It didn’t make sense to her.

“Like what?” Isabella asks.

“So- She doesn’t act like an alpha.” Reyna explains and instead of making Reyna feel inferior or crazy, Isabella looks thoughtful.

“What do you think an alpha should act like?” Isabella asks her with a neutral face.

“What kind of question is that?” Reyna asks defensively, “They act like alphas should act.”

“Humor me.” Isabella says with an easy smile.

“Okay fine,” Reyna says, still mindful of the canoodling couple in front of them. “They keep you with them all the time and they don’t like it when you talk to other people too much. They make it known that you’re theirs and no one else’s and sometimes they get mad at you but that’s just because all the alpha hormones.”

Isabella blinks. Her hand comes out slowly and lays over Reyna’s. “Sweetheart, that’s _not_ what an alpha is.”

Reyna doesn’t understand.

Isabella worries her bottom lip between her teeth and squeezes Reyna’s hand again. “I’m gunna send you some articles okay? And I really want you to read them and I’ll answer any questions you have after them.”

Reyna nods slowly. “Okay.”

-

The articles Isabella sends her destroy everything she’s ever thought about herself and any alpha she’s ever encountered.

All in all, she comes to the general consensus that every alpha she’s ever dated were just class A abusive assholes and she cries about it all night.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a disclaimer this is the next installment in mine and comebackbehere's posie au. This one is Cameron/Reyna centered but will feature Posie and Penelope and all the others.
> 
> TW: for implied and brief mentions of domestic/emotional abuse

“I have coffee and donuts.” Cameron is especially cheery this early in the morning and Reyna throws a pillow at her on impulse.

“Go’way.”

“It’s almost noon,” Cameron laughs, “Time to get up.”

Reyna lets out an almighty groan, her limbs still tired and her eyes still puffy from her crying last night. She feels like she’s cried herself into dehydration and she knows she’ll need to fix that soon.

“Hey,” Cameron says softly, suddenly right next to her, pushing the escaped hairs from her ponytail out of her face. “What’s wrong?”

Reyna leans into the touch for half a second before remembering Cameron is certainly not hers. She leans away again and Cameron frowns briefly before withdrawing her hand. “Nothing. I just- I was reading some stuff and it was upsetting.”

“Oh?” Cameron’s voice lilts in curiosity and Reyna smiles smally. “What about?”

Reyna suddenly feels shy, a little too vulnerable. The only one who’d even known about any of her past relationships was Sofiá and even she didn’t quite know about the worst of them. Something about telling Cameron made it feel more real, a more concrete idea that she had in fact been taken advantage of by so many people who were supposed to have her best interest at heart. But Cameron had shown her nothing but kindness and patience even when Reyna feels like she didn’t deserve it.

“Isabella sent me some articles.” Reyna starts tentatively, “Basically I just figured out every relationship I’ve ever had with an alpha has not been the norm.”

Cameron is silent for a moment, “Is that why you’re always so annoyed with me? Am I doing something that upsets you because that’s never been my intention-“

Reyna smiles and covers Cameron’s mouth with her palm. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Is all she offers up.

Cameron looks like she’s ready to hear more or ask a bunch of follow up questions but that’s all Reyna has to offer her. She thinks maybe Cameron gets that when she only smiles softly and hands Reyna a coffee.

“You promise you’ll let me know if I do though?”

Reyna isn’t sure she would be able to form the words but she promises anyway.

-

Cameron feels like there’s something that Reyna isn’t sharing about her past, something huge and dark, but she doesn’t push. She gets flashes of it sometimes, when Reyna is a little too slow on shutting off their bond and it’s usually in the mornings or the middle of the night, like they come from Reyna’s dreams.

She watches Reyna silently as she checks out book after book from the library, watches her read blog after blog, and on one occasion she even sees her walking into the school counselor's office. She wants to ask her what’s going on, especially when she catches some of the book titles and blog articles but something larger than her curiosity stops her each time.

“Babe? You listening?”

Cameron blinks and zeroes back in on Francesca’s face. “Sorry what?”

Francesca raises an eyebrow, “You know you can go sit with Reyna if you want right? I can just see you later.”

Cameron shakes her head, “No- no I’m sorry I was just-” She catches sight of Reyna again, looking troubled as she reads something on her phone and immediately pushes the device halfway across the table, “You know what, yeah, can we do that?”

“Sure,” Francesca chirps, “I was gunna go meetup with Ryan anyway. I’ll call you later?”

Cameron’s already half way up from the table nodding as she presses an absent minded kiss to Francesca’s cheek, “Sure. Tell her I said hi.”

Cameron’s at Reyna’s side in mere moments. “Hey you okay?”

Reyna jolts, looks up at Cameron with wide eyes and breathes an audible sigh of relief. “Yes,” She says in a rush of breath, “What are you doing here? I thought you were hanging of with Francesca?”

Cameron shrugs and sits down at the table beside Reyna, “I’m gunna see her later. Are you sure you’re okay? Cuz my chest feels funny and I think it’s you.”

Reyna holds her poker face for all of two seconds before her lower lip wobbles and she’s wrapping her arms around Cameron’s neck. “My ex is here.”

-

Reyna’s ex boyfriend is the biggest douchebag Cameron has ever had the displeasure of meeting. He’s uninvited, Reyna makes that quite clear, and the only reason she knows he’s here is because Sofiá sees him first. After that, it seems he seeks her out.

Something about him unsettles Reyna so much that Cameron feels like she she might lose her temper at any moment. Reyna is timid, meek, in his presence and Cameron knows there’s a reason why she just can’t put it together yet. It’s like it’s right at the edge of her consciousness and it leaves her antsy and agitated.

“I don’t like him.” Penelope says bluntly.

“I don’t either.” Cameron says around a clenched jaw. “He gives me bad vibes.”

“He looks like a fucking creeper. You should shift and bite him.”

“Penelope!” Josie gasps, “They’d kill each other.”

Penelope raises an eyebrow, “Cameron would win I don’t see the problem.”

Cameron finds that she agrees. “Something isn’t right.” She says, shaking her head in the hopes that it’ll clear the fog in her head, “I feel- I think-” She takes two steps back, an instinct to keep the humans safe and shakes her head again.

“Cameron?”

Cameron’s vision dims and it hits her all at once, it’s like watching a movie of Reyna’s memories on fast forward and this particular man is the forefront. Only it’s less of a movie and more of a horror story. She hits the dirt on all fours, rage and anger pulling her apart.

“Cameron? What’s- Josie get back!”

Cameron sees it all in her mind’s eye. Every swing, every strike, every bruise, every tear. When she opens her eyes again, her vision tunnels.

-

“Penelope you need to rest.” Josie says around a sigh.

“Rest?” Penelope scoffs, “I can't _rest_ , Josie! My best friend is missing.”

“They’re tracking her as we speak. Worrying yourself sick isn’t going to help anything.” Josie says gently.

Penelope continues to pace the length of the room. It’d been 2 hours since Cameron had shifted right in the middle of the quad, in broad daylight for all the student body to see. She’d let out one almighty howl that’d seemed to shake the building before charging at Reyna’s ex boyfriend. The two of them had fought until the boyfriend shifted too and ran. Cameron had chased right after him.

“This is bad.” Penelope tells her. “She probably killed him.”

Josie rubs soothingly at Penelope’s shoulders once she gets to her. ”You don’t know that. Cameron is in control the majority of the time. I’m sure she’s just taking some cool down time. You know how embarrassed she gets with these kinds of things.”

“Josie this is bad. What if she did kill him and she can’t come back from this? What is she gets stuck in her wolf form? She’s not supposed to be able to transition in the daylight!”

“She will be fine.” Josie assures her, tucking a strand of hair behind Penelope’s ear. “Lizzie and Hope are brewing something up as we speak to help her if she can’t. She’s just- it’s a lot to handle even though she’s insanely powerful. It’s her soulmate, Pen, all bets are off.”

“I wanna know what she saw.” Penelope wonders, calm and pacified for the moment in Josie’s arms. “It had to have been something really, really, bad Jojo. She shifted in the middle of the day.” She repeats again in an awed whisper, like Josie wasn’t there.

Josie opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted by the crash of her door opening.

Isabella looks like a disheveled hot mess as she hangs in the doorway. “Penelope, we found them.”

-

Penelope isn’t sure what she expects to find when Isabella picks her up and speeds them through the forest in a blink. Josie had stayed back to bring Hope and Lizzie along with her just in case they needed a more magical means of bringing Cameron back with them and Penelope can only hope that they won’t have to use it.

They get to a clearing eventually and the first thing Penelope sees is Reyna’s back against a tree, her hands pressed over her ears and Cameron’s pure white form snarling at Sofiá, back to Reyna. She looks almost larger than what Penelope remembers and there’s no indication that Cameron has any kind of control. In fact when Cameron’s wolf catches scent of them, her snarls get louder.

“Penelope call her off!” Sofiá shouts over the rabid sound. “She’s keeping us from Reyna!”

“Me?” Penelope asks incredulously, “I’m a _human_! She’ll rip me to shreds!”

“You have to do something!” Sofiá nearly screams back, frustration and fear all over her face.

“She’s gone into protective mode.” Isabella explains, her eyes still on Cameron, “She’s- we think she tracked Reyna by scent. She won’t let anyone within spitting distance of Reyna. Rey-“ Isabella trails off, her face going somber, “Reyna’s still not over earlier. I think she’s having a flashback or something.”

“Fuck!” Penelope runs her hands through her hair, “Can we do a spell? Something to calm her down?”

Isabella looks conflicted, “I don’t know any?”

Sofiá speeds to the far left in a blur and Cameron is there just as quickly to block her off. “I’m going to kill her if she doesn’t _back the fuck off_!” She screams at Cameron’s snarling muzzle.

“Sofiá!” Isabella calls out, “Don’t bait her! She’ll attack!”

“I don’t care,” Sofiá scoffs, punching a nearby tree and tossing a splintered piece at Cameron with all her might. Cameron snaps it like a twig in her jaws and Sofiá swallows thickly. “Reyna needs me, Isa.”

Isabella snaps her fingers, “Reyna’s the only one who can stop her. Cameron isn’t here right now, just her wolf-“

“-and in full alpha mode because of the ex. Where is he? Did she kill him?” Penelope demands.

“We don’t know.” Isabella answers, just a touch uncomfortable, “We lost sight of them by the river and this is how we found them. He’s not anywhere near here, we don’t smell or hear him.”

“Hello!” Sofiá chimes in impatiently, “Fuck him. What do we do?”

“We need Cameron to stop making noise first,” Isabella says with a pointed glare at Cameron. Penelope is surprised there isn’t foam spilling from her mouth yet. “Let’s put a cone of silence around her, Pen, then Sof you gotta talk her down. Cameron isn’t going to relax until she does okay? But do not get too close. Cameron’s bite with kill you and it will be painful. Okay?”

Sofiá nods firmly, grateful for something to do.

Penelope grabs Isabella’s hands and together they whisper an enchantment that shutters Cameron’s snarls and barks. It lets them hear Reyna’s very audible labored breathing.

“Reyna,” Sofiá calls out to her, her hands outstretched, “Reyna, you gotta breathe okay? I know it’s scary, I know you’re scared but I’m right here. We’re all right here and nothings gunna happen to you. No one is going to touch you- you just have to breathe for me. Please, Reyna.”

Reyna makes a panicked sort of wheezing noise and Sofiá looks like it’s physically painful for her not to be able to reach out and touch.

“In and out. Rey, come on in and out, follow me.” Sofiá coaches, exaggerating her own breathing so Reyna can follow.

Cameron fights against the cone of silence around her all the while and Penelope starts to feel the strain on her magic. She can see it mirrored on Isabella’s face too. “She’s too strong.” She mutters and Isabella grimaces in agreement and says, “Stupid alpha strength.”

Gradually though, Penelope can hear Reyna’s breathing slow down to a slow hiccup. She coughs a few times, a wet mucousy sound but her breathing finally evens out enough that Cameron stops snarling.

“Sof,” Reyna rasps, “Sof, I’m so tired.”

“I know baby,” Sofiá whispers tearfully, “You have to call Cameron off. She’s not gunna let me get close to you.”

Reyna looks surprised at this. “She was protecting me?”

“Yeah,” Sofiá tells her with a small laugh, “Won't let anyone close to you.”

“It’s because- because _he_ -“ Reyna chokes on her words and Cameron starts to get restless again.

“Because he scared you.” Sofiá confirms, “She’s not mad at you, I promise.”

“I didn’t mean to-“ Reyna whimpers, “He just-“

“Cameron knows,” Sofiá assures her, “Reyna call her to you. It’s okay.”

Reyna holds Sofiá’s eyes for a long moment before nodding. She shifts her head a little and stares in Cameron’s direction. “Camz-“

Cameron spins quickly, Reyna letting out a squeak at the sudden movement. Cameron lets out a pitiful whine that has Penelope scoffing, flattening her ears in remorse. She gets down on her belly and shuffles forward.

Reyna releases a shaky breath as Cameron moves slowly, keeps her body low and nonthreatening. Eventually Reyna extends her hand and Penelope’s heart breaks at the way it shakes. She lets it drop to Cameron’s head and the tension bleeds from her body in an instant. She tosses her arms around Cameron’s neck and cries.

Sofiá approaches Reyna slowly then and Cameron tracks her the whole way with her eyes but doesn’t otherwise react volatile besides a deep warning growl. Sofiá raises her hands placatingly until she gets to them and when she eventually reaches them, she folds her longer frame over Reyna’s and holds her while Reyna continues to cry into Cameron’s fur.

“There’s a story there we don’t know.” Penelope murmurs to Isabella.

“With that kind of reaction? I don’t think I want to know.” Isabella responds with a clenched jaw, wiping the sweat from her face.

-

Josie finds them when they’re half way back to the dorms. She screeches to a halt at the sight of Cameron. “Holy fuck she’s huge.”

Penelope shrugs, “You get used to it.” She makes grabby hands for Josie and Josie wraps her in a hug. “I’m emotionally drained.” She whispers just for Josie to hear.

“I can only imagine.” Josie murmurs, her eyes staring pointedly at Reyna’s sleeping form.

She’d fallen asleep crying against Cameron and Sofiá had lifted her gently into her arms to carry her back to the school. Cameron didn’t move more than an inch from them and more than once did she lean over to snuffle at Reyna’s face. It’d been a quiet, somber walk back.

Hope and Lizzie finally break through the line of trees, both panting. “Jesus Josie, run much?”

Josie shrugs unrepentant. “I wanted to get to them as fast as possible.”

“As touching as this is,” Sofiá pipes up, “Reyna needs to rest. We’re going to take her back to her dorm.” And then she keeps trucking forward with Cameron and Isabella trailing her.

“I’ll meet you guys later,” Penelope calls after them, “I think we need a slumber party.”

Lizzie points at Cameron, “We can’t just let a wolf on campus?”

Penelope snorts and leans further into Josie, “You wanna stop her? Be my guest.”

Lizzie works her jaw but ultimately doesn’t say anything.

-

When Cameron opens her eyes in the morning, every muscle in her body hurts.

There’s a heat on her chest that she immediately recognizes as Reyna. Her heart hammers against her rib cage as vague memories from last night flood her senses. She tries to shift away from Reyna, remorse and shame filling every inch of her body but Reyna holds tight.

“Don’t go.” Reyna murmurs sleepily.

Cameron swallows thickly, “Reyna please, let me up.”

Reyna lifts her head, a frown on her face at the tone of her voice. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry,” Cameron says in a rush, tears springing to her eyes. “I am _so sorry_ , I- I lost control and I swear it’ll never happen again. I would never hurt you and I understand if you want me to leave you alone.”

Reyna places her palm on Cameron’s cheek, forces Cameron to meet her eyes. “You’re a stupid alpha.”

Cameron feels her lower lip wobble.

“But I love you.” Reyna says earnestly, “ _I’m_ sorry for ever thinking you were like the typical alpha. You’re so much more, Camz. I know you would never hurt me.”

“You- You-“

Reyna smiles, her eyes glistening, “Yeah, I do. Sorry it took me so long to say it.”

Cameron grips her wrist, squeezes her eyes shut, “Oh god please tell me I’m not dreaming.”

“You’re not, I promise.” Reyna says, her forehead leaning against Cameron’s, “Say it back, Camz.”

Cameron practically dive bombs them backwards, “I love you, I love you, iloveyou!”

-

“Hey how’d dumping Francesca go?” Penelope asks when Cameron walks into her room.

“Easy, I think,” Cameron says with a sheepish shrug, “She said she couldn’t compete with a mate bond and that there were no hard feelings.”

“How did she even know?” Penelope frowns.

Cameron blushes, “The whole school is talking about it. I shifted in the daylight.”

“Did you kill him? Because no one can find him.” Penelope asks her honestly.

“No.” Cameron admits shakily, “But I was very close.”

Penelope digests that in silence. “I won’t ask why, but I want you to know I trust your judgement and I don’t look at you any differently.”

Cameron’s eyes are wet when she smiles at Penelope thankfully.

“Soooo, what’s going on with you and Reyna?” Penelope drawls with a smirk, “We all heard the L bomb this morning.”

If anything Cameron’s cheeks darken, “N-nothing, we’re still- we’re not _girlfriend’s_ or anything.” She notes just a touch sad.

“Not yet.” Penelope says with a triumphant grin.

“Not yet,” Cameron agrees with a wide smile. “I’m very happy.”

“Me too,” Penelope sighs, “The angst was getting too much. It was making Josie too emotional.”

Cameron scoffs a laugh, “It was not.”

“It was,” Penelope insists, “I think she ships you guys more than me now. She even made a tshirt.”

Cameron blinks.

“Do not tell her I told you that!”

“Only if I can get a t-shirt too.” Cameron laughs.

-

Cameron is nervous to knock on Reyna’s door. Realistically she has no reason to be, they’d already traded I love you’s and she’d pinched herself twice when she went back to her dorm to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Josie had assured her that she was not.

“Hey.” Reyna greets with an equally nervous smile, pulling the door open, “Fancy seeing you here.”

Cameron feels more at ease the longer she stares at her. They’d decided after their declarations to give each other some space so everyone could process everything that happened but Cameron couldn’t stay away for any much longer. “Can I come in?”

Reyna looks surprised for a second before she smiles and opens the door wider. “Of course. You don’t have to ask.”

“I just wanted to make sure, you know with everything that happened yesterday. I don’t wanna overstep.” Cameron tells her honestly. She walks to the middle of the room and gets less sure of herself. “I have- I want to say something and I’m really nervous so I don’t want you to interrupt or I’ll lose my nerve.” She says out in a fast rush.

Reyna frowns briefly in confusion but nods nonetheless. “Of course, Camz, you know you can tell me anything.”

Cameron takes a deep breath and begins. “This morning I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Telling you I love you this morning is not something that I will ever regret but I wish it had been under better circumstances. I wish I had gotten a chance to take you out on a first date first, I wish I had gotten to kiss you first, show you how much I love you before I told you but I don’t regret it and I guess- I’m asking you to let me do that now.” She swallows thickly at the gets welling Reyna’s eyes but she powers through.

“I should have said something the second you said you thought we were destined to be friends only because I knew you were lying, e-everyone knew you were lying. I- I just wanted to give you what you wanted.” Cameron tells her, “But Reyna I’m so grossly in love with you so please let me show you. I would really like to be your girlfriend, if that’s okay with you.”

The silence between them is the thickest thing Cameron’s ever felt and she swears her heart is going to beat right out of her chest to fall at Reyna’s feet but she only feels relief. Everything she’d always wanted to say is not out in the open.

“I’m not like other girls.” Reyna finally says, a serious look on her face. “I don’t like the things other girls like.”

Cameron smiles faintly. “I know, Rey.”

“I still think Valentine’s Day is stupid. Flowers are pointless, they’re already dying when you buy them. Mainstream romance is a joke.” Reyna continues on, unfettered by Cameron’s growing smile, “I don’t want to be your property. I don’t want you telling me what to do.”

Cameron waits patiently, calmly. She’d wait forever.

“I want you to love me for me.” Reyna says, shakily this time but she doesn’t back away when Cameron approaches her, “Not for who you think I’ll be, not for what you think your love will turn me into. I want us to be equals.” She says firmly, her fingers knotting in front of her. “Okay?”

Cameron grins, pulls Reyna’s hands up to her mouth and presses a kiss to the back of both her palms. “Okay.”

Reyna blinks. “Wait really?”

“Reyna, I love you,” Cameron tells her honestly, “You think I don’t know you have prickly edges? I love you how you are. I just wanna make you happy.”

“You really believe that.” Reyna says in almost awe. Cameron’s only been trying to tell her that since they met. “It won’t be easy.” She cautions like a warning, but she doesn’t pull her hands away.

“The best things never are,” Cameron shrugs, pulling Reyna closer so she can wrap an arm around her back. “Anything else?” She asks teasingly.

“I demand the left side of the bed.”

“Done,” Cameron chirps, Reyna’s arms winding around her neck now. “Next?”

Reyna smirks, “I want dedicated nights for our friends.”

“Absolutely. I agree.” Cameron nods, the space between them gone now. “Anything else?” She whispers, the sound ghosting over Reyna’s lips.

Reyna’s only response is to cup the back of her neck and crash their lips together. Finally, her heart sings, finally.

-

Penelope frowns when she gets to their table.

“What’s wrong babe?” Josie asks, almost crashing into her back with the abrupt stop.

“We’re missing someone. Two someone’s. Two idiot shaped someone’s.”

Isabella laughs, “We haven’t seen Cameron and Reyna all morning.” She breaks a piece of her orange away and presses it to Sofiá’s lips, almost absently. “We were gunna give them a 3 days grace period.”

Josie immediately groans at this. “Oh son of a- Pen,” She whines spectacularly, “Can I stay in your room?”

Penelope presses a kiss to the top of her head affectionately. “Of course, honey.”

“I just hope they stay hydrated.” Sofiá chirps, accepting another orange slice from her girlfriend like her hands were useless.

“I hope they use protection.” Penelope adds in jokingly.

Josie looks up in interest at that. “Wait can they have babies?” She directs to Isabella.

Sofiá immediately laughs. “Uhm did someone not have the birds and bees talk with you, Saltzman? That’s not how it works. Neither one of them has-”

Isabella pats Sofiá on the hand affectionately, a neat trick to shut her up. “Only on a full moon.”

Sofiá and Penelope both whip around to stare at her in shock while Josie nods in satisfaction. “That’s what I thought.”

Sofiá and Penelope both share a look for a beat before Sofiá is speeding away in a blur and Penelope takes off at a run.

“That was too easy.” Isabella laughs once they’re gone, high fiving Josie as they go back to their lunch, secure in the knowledge that all of their pack would be joining them soon.

~


End file.
